Nassau, The Bahamas…Moviemaker to musicmaker, Ricardo 'Mr. Beeds' Forbes has made history in the local entertainment industry with his debut music video for his hit song Achoo (Bless You). Combining hip hop with the Bahamian folk sound of rake 'n' scrape, Mr. Beeds is the first artist from his country to use several types of animation throughout his entire video.
"Having already won film awards and working in theatre I think a lot of people expected me to come from a familiar angle," he admitted. "However, it was great to see everyone's reaction when it turned out I was hardly featured thanks to the wonders of animation."
The video was officially launched during Youth Alive, one of the region's major events for young people featuring some of the biggest names in positive music. By the end of the night, North Americans were requesting to take copies of the video back home with them and by the end of the week Facebook and YouTube comments were pouring in.
"I feel like progress is being made," says Mr. Beeds who released his first album Peak State in January 2009. "I wrote the vision, made it plain, left in to God and he made it a reality. I am happy with the response from people but I am most humbled with the love that Bahamians have shown. People say that if you want an honest critique you have to ask a Bahamian and they have been honest and I thank them for being so supportive. The one constant comment I keep getting is that the video is so original."
Mr. Beeds credits his friend, compositor Al Rahming as the mastermind behind the artistry. Viewers enjoy the cut out animation similar to the style used in South Park in the first verse of the song featuring a cameo by one of the Bahamas' leading DJ's Dion Da Butcha. Rahming also experimented with sketch, 3-D and scribble animation, all of which ends up in perfect synchronization.
"Al is an amazing artist and it was a blessing that he not only poured out so many styles in this but that he gave all he had into turning the video out in only six weeks," said Mr. Beeds. "We came up with the concept together – the whole good versus evil aspect. People who know the song often joke about it being the worst day ever for someone. I mean, the person I sing about proposes to a woman he finds out is actually married, tries to help an old woman who turns out to be a robber in disguise and he's like on the verge of throwing in the towel. But in the video we get to see that there is a demon assigned to bring him down and an angel assigned to help him rise above it all. The thing is we need to be tested sometimes and the video can be perceived as an allegory of a biblical text that talks about when you are tempted beyond what you can bear, God will provide a way out so that you can stand above it."
Mr. Beeds, who has been busy hitting up different venues on his summer tour of New Providence each weekend, is excited about the opportunities which have presented themselves for the video. The video is expected to air on MTV Tempo this summer and has been submitted to BET and VH1. Fans who can't wait may check out the video on YouTube or Mr. Beeds' Facebook page.
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Arthia A. Nixon
Publicist
1-242-225-1550
1-242-535-4522
arthia.nixon@gmail.com
